Park cafe badly damaged after being deliberately set on fire

Hazlehead Park Cafe in Aberdeen extensively damaged following blaze on Friday evening.

12th Dec 2020

A popular cafe in an Aberdeen park has been badly damaged after being deliberately set on fire.

The Hazlehead Park Cafe has closed indefinitely following the blaze, which happened at around 9.20pm on Friday night.

The cafe’s management posted a message on Facebook on Saturday morning, reading: “It’s with a heavy heart that we can confirm that there was a devastating fire at the Hazlehead Park Cafe last night.

“Thankfully nobody has been hurt, but until the extent of the damage is fully assessed, our doors will be closed for the foreseeable future.

“Thank you so much to the brave fire teams that extinguished the fires… grateful as always to our amazing emergency services.”

Police are appealing for information about the “wilful fire-raising” incident.

Detective Constable Alan Gordon, Aberdeen CID, said: “The park is a popular place and well used by dog walkers and people out for a stroll or run.

“I would like to hear from anyone who was in the park between 7pm and 9.20pm last night who may have seen people hanging about the cafe or acting suspiciously nearby.

“If you have any information that may assist our investigation, please call Aberdeen CID via 101 quoting reference number 3460 of 11 December, 2020. Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.